1998 issue 2 - the future of the christian family - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1998 Issue 2 - The Future of the Christian Family - Counsel of Chalcedon

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What does God have

in

enjoy prosperity and peace

on

those promises, is

store for Chtistian families? into the future. The uptight

motivated

and

enabled to

God answers that question family is, as in Proverbs 12:7,

persevere

in

well-doing.

for us in the Bible in many

the Chtistian

family

that

To all those families that

ways.

seeks to live

in

confOrmity

to

God calls to Himself and to

The wicked are overthrown

the revealed will of God

salvation, Genesis 12:1, He

and

are no more but

the

house

through faith in Christ.

makes these wonderful

o

the

righteous

will

stand

The future belongs to

promises:

(1).

I will give

you

Proverbs 12:7.

Christian families, because

a land, a place to live and

From some quarter an

God is at work

in

history

work for My glory, Genesis

unparalleled catastrophe will

uprooting and removing 12:1; (2) I will give you a

overthrow and overwhelm

lawless families from the posterity, whom I will place

the godless, so that they will earth, and establishing

and

down through their

never rise again. It is all

generations, Genesis

over for them. On the

12:2, Exodus 20:6; (3).

other hand, the family

I will

pour

out My rich

of

the righteous blessing

on your

life

withstands the storms and family

down

that sweep away the through their

godless. A righteous

generations, Genesis

family is a family that trusts

prospering godly families. To

12:2; (4). I 'will make you a

in Christ and His

. godly families God promises:

great name, i.e., reputation

righteousness alone for

I will bless you, and make and influence in the earth,

salvation; and, who out of

your name great;

and

so you Genesis 12:2; (5). I will use

gratitude, follows the

shall be a blessing; and I will

you and your family to bring

directions and instructions of

bless those who bless you,

the blessings of salvation to

Gods Word for

life.

and

the one who curses you I

the

families

of

the world,

The

house of

the wiched will

will curse. And in you all the

Genesis 12:2; (6). I will bless

be destroyed

but the tent

of

the

families of the earth shall be

those who bless you, Genesis

upright will ftoU1ish Proverbs

blessed, Genesis 12:2-3.

12:3. \Nhen God embraces us

14:1l

God includes promises

with His favor, He will bless

The seemingly well-

with the commands He

our

friends.

(7).

I will curse

founded, permanent and

places

on

Abraham, when He

those who curse you, Genesis

secure house of the Vlricked

called Him to be His man,

12:3. This is

our

protection

will, contrary to all

because it is absolutely

from our enemies, for it

appearances, be destroyed;

certain that

our

faith cannot

guarantees the defeat of all

but the seemingly easily

endure or stand for long,

opposition against Christian

destructible tent of the

unless it is founded on divine

families. Gods blessing on

upright V ril burst with buds,

promises. And faith alone

His people

and His curse on

blossoms and fruit. t will not

produces obedience. Faith,

their enemies comprise the

onlybe preserved and embracing the promises of

basis of our confident

hope

protected when the wicked God in Christ, and being

of

victory for Christian

fall, but it will continue to

nourished and strengthened families

in

the Church in

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon AprillMay

998


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history,

I Corinthians

15:24.

He who fears the Lord has

Vi ill

enjoy

prosperity under

(8). I mil bring

the

blessings

secure

fortress and

for

his

Gods

blessing, but the

of salvation to all

the

world

children

it will

be refuge

income of the

family

of the

through you,

Genesis 12:3,

Proverbs 14:26. mcked mil be overthrown

Galatians 3:8 14

Psalm

The

fear of

the Lord

and bring ruin upon them.

22:27[; (9). I mil bring you

proves itself a strong basis for

Far from enriching the f a m i l ~

and your family into union

confidence and hope, for

as does the income of the

and communion

Vi ith

Me

in

such fear has an inheritance

righteous man,

the

income of

an everlasting

covenant,

which is enduring,

the mcked man

is

the cause

Genesis 17:7.

unwavering, and not

of nothing but constant

As

Christian

families

are

disappointing in God, Who is

worty and ruin to his family.

faithful

to God, by His grace,

the object of fear; for it is not

Or, if

there be not much

their future mil

be

one of

faith,

nor anything else

of this world's goods, yet

brightness, joy, peace,

subjective, which is the rock

where there

is grace

there is

prosperity, security and

that bears us, but this

Rock

is

true treasure; and those who

victory.

the object which faith lays

have

but little, i they have a

Evil

men

will

bow

down in

hold

of.

-

Keil,

PROVERBS,

heart

to

be theremth content,

the presence

of the

good

and

Vol. I, p.

308.

and to enjoy the comfort of

the

wicked at the gates of the

The fear of the

Lord

is a

that little, it is enough; it is all

righteous Proverbs

14:

19.

precious inheritance for the

riches. - Matthew

Henry,

Evil people, who are often

children of those who fear

Vol. 3,

p.

717.

the oppressors of God's

Him. It

is

for them a fortress,

Know therefore that the

people, mil bow in respect

a place of protection and a

LORD your God He is

God

and submission, willingly or

refuge in the midst of the

the faithful God

who

keeps His

unmllingly, in the presence

stonns oflife. The

Lord

covenant and

His

of truly good people, i.e.,

Himself, whom their fathers

lovingkindness to thousandth

those people

who

manifest

fear is

their shield and

generation

with

those

wlw

love

the good character

of

God in

protector. Danger

may

Him and

keep His

their own characters, lives

surround their

family

but the

commandments Deuteronomy

and relationships. Only God

Lord keeps and protects by

7:9.

can define what

is

good, and

His unlimited power the

The Lord repeatedly

families

of those who

fear

He has done so in

His Law,

Him, I Peter 1:5. The

proclaims His intention to

which is a transcript of His

children of those who do not

manifest His lovingkindness

holy character. Furthermore,

fear the Lord haV'e not

by blessing the successive

evil people will fall down

protection against the

generations of those who love

from

their

places

of power assaults and seductions of

Him

and who obey His

and prosperity so

low

that

this dangerously evil world.

commandments because they

they mil place

themselves

at

love

Him.

See also Exodus

the doors of the homes of

The

house

of the lighteous

20:5-6,

Psalm

103:17-18.

In

righteous people, waiting for

contains great

treasure

but the

order to encourage His

them to appear, so that they

income of

the wicked brings

worshippers to earnest piety,

can receive of their Christian

them trouble Proverbs 15:6.

He

declares that He mIl be

charity and generosity. The

family

of the righteous

kind, not only to themselves,

Apri1lMay

998 i TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ; 5


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but to their posterity, even for

reassuring him of the

world's

nations

will willin

a thousand generations. But covenant promise concerning

and self-consciously recei

this is the proof of His the glorious future for the

the

blessings of

the

gospe

inestimable kindness, and "seed" of

the

covenant, for

having been

brought

to se

even indulgence, that He

the future generations of his

their sinfulness by

the

deigns to bind Himself to His

famil)\

and through them

for convicting

power

of the

H

servants,

to

whom He owes

the

whole world 22:17[

(1).

Spirit,

and

led

to repentan

nothing, so far as to

God promises

to

bestow great

and

to faith

in

Christ, Isai

aclmowledge,

in

His favor

blessings upon all the

66:20.

towards them, their seed also

covenant seed, Genesis

Here

the

promise to

for His people." - Jolm

22:17; (2). He promises the

Christian families is victor

Calvin, COMMENTARIES,

innumerable

increase of the

over

all our enemies,

Vol II,

p.

I l l

covenant seed, 22:17; (3). He

incomparable growth and

In addition to these

promises that that seed

shall

evangelistic success

in

thrilling promises, God

possess the gates of

their

bringing the blessings

of

makes this promise to

enemies,

i.e., experience

salvation t

the

world's

Christian families: all

the

victory over all opposition

in

nations.

What

a glOrious

people on earth will be blessed

the earth, Genesis 22: 17,

future awaits Christian

through you,

Genesis 12:3,

15:7. The covenant families

families

18:18. In Genesis 22:17-18,

of the Lord will take

How are these promise

God says to Abraham,

the

possession of the cities of

father of believers :

will

their enemies, and will

to be secured

for

your

fam

surely bless you

and make your

conquer and occupy the

down through your

descendants

as

numerous

as

the

whole Land of Promise, i.e.,

generations?

stars in the sky and as the

sand

the entire earth, Genesis

And God blessed them; a

on

the seashore. Your

15:7, Romans 4:12-13. Jesus

God

said

to them, Be

fruitf

descendants

will

take

possession

refers to this promise

in

His

and

multipl),

and

fill the

ea

of the

cities of their

enemies,

statement that the gates of

and subdue it; and rule ove

and through your offspring,

all

hell will

not

be able to stop

fish

of the sea and over the

nations

on

mthwill be blessed,

the advance

of

the Church

of the sky, and over every li

because you

have

obeyed

Me

He is building on earth,

thing

that

moves on the ear

The Lord tested Abraham's

Matthew 16:18. (4). He

Genesis 1:28.

faith

in

order

to

strengthen

it

promises to

bestow

the

Christian families will

in "the sacrifice of Isaac,"

bleSSings of salvation

upon

experience the reality of t

Genesis 22:1-19. Abraham

all

the

world's nations

and

covenant promises as we

passed the test because

he

families,

through

the

faithful, as families, carry

believed God's Word; and

obedience of

the

generations

out

the Dominion Manda

because

he

believed God,

he

of Christian families, Le.,

the

Genesis 1:28. As soon as

obeyed God, proving

that

he

covenant seed, Genesis 12:3, created man and woman

i

had

true

saving faith,

James

22:18, Galatians 3:7,8,14,29.

His image, He gave them

2:21-24. God graciously

Through the

faithful

mandate to

be fruitful, fill

rewarded Abraham's obedience of

the

generations

earth

subdue

it

and rule o

faithfulness by strongly of Christian families, the

it for

the

glory of God. Th

-61 THE COUNSELofChalcedon l ApriJ/May 998


4/5

mandate has reference to the

harnessing and utilizing of

the earth's resources for the

construction of a truly

Christian civilization on the

earth. This subduing

ohhe

earth involves the

expenditure of thought and

skill and energy in bringing

the entire earth under the

godly dominion

of

men and

women obedient to God's

Word. According

to

his

mandate, marriage and

family are not ends

in

themselves,

but

they are

means to an end. The

vocation of marriage is a gift

of God to enable

man

and

woman to be effective

in

the

vocation of dominion. (The

Great Commission of

Matthew

8

is a restatement

of the Dominion Mandate,

taking into consideration

fallen man's need

of

redemption.)

For I have chosen him

[Abraham], order

that he

may

command

his children and

his household

after him

to keep

the way

of

the Lord

by

doing

lighteousness

and justice; in

order

that

the Lord may

bring

upon Abraham what He has

spoken about

him,

Genesis

18:19.

The covenant blessings of

. God

will

be fulfilled by God

in the lives of His people

. down through their

: generations as they are

,faithful to Him. Genesis

18: 19 specifies that only as

Abraham's children do justice

and judgment

will

God bring

upon them what He has. In

other words, the participation

of

individuals and groups

in

the promise [made to

Abraham] is conditional.

Stigers, A

COMMENTARY

ON GENESIS. Abraham

and

his descendants would be

possessors

of

the grace of

God as they instructed their

children in the fear of the

Lord, and governed their

households well, i.e.,

according

to

the Word

of

God.

The tl.'Pression after

him

tells us that we must

not

only take care of

our

families,

to govern them duly, while

we live; but that we must

give diligence,

in

order that

the

truth of

God, which is

eternal, may live and flourish

after our death; and that

thus, when we are dead, a

holy course of living may

survive and remain. -

John

Calvin, GENESIS.

God does not make

lmown His

will

to us, that the

lmowledge of it may perish

with us;

but

that we may

be

His witnesses to posterity,

and that they may deliver the

lmowledge received through

us, from

hand

to hand, to

their descendants

Wherefore,

it

is the duty of

parents to apply themselves

diligently

to

the work of

communicating what they

have learned from

the

Lord

to

their children. -

John

Calvin - GENESIS

In order to abide in the

promised covenant bleSSings,

the children

of

Christian

families

must

themselves

continue

to

walk

in

faith in

Christ and

in

faithfulness

to

the Bible. We

must instruct

our children to fear

God

so

that they will live

by faith

and

in

faithfulness to

Christ

and

thus

inherit the

fullness

of salvation, the earth,

and

escape the

wrath

of God.

Heal; 0

Israel The

LORD

is

our

God, the

LORD is one

nd

you

shall

love

the LORD your

God

with all your

heart

and

with all your soul

and

with all

your might.

And these

words,

which

I am

commanding you

today,

shall be

on your

heart;

and

you

shall

teach

them

diligently to your

sons

and shaH

talk

of them

when you sit

in

your

house

and when

you walk

by the

way and when

you lie

down

and

when you lise up

Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

We have turned to this

text many times

in

recent

weeks for instruction

in

worship, education,

parental

responsibility, and confessing

the faith, and we will turn to

it

many more times in

the

future. Notice again the traits

of truly Christian families:

(1). They

make

public

confession of their Biblical

AprillMay, 1998 1

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faith in the Lord; (2). They

love the Lord with all their

heart, soul and might; (3).

The

parents

make

sure that

the Word of God is on Uleir

hearts, that they live by it and

find life in it;

and 4).

These

parents teach their children

constantly to live

and

think

in terms of the Word of God

in all areas and activities

of

life.

As

these traits

characterize our families we

will see God fulfill His

promises in

our

families

Ji'ain up child

in the

way

he

should

go,

even

when

he

is

old he

will

not depart from it,

Proverbs 22:6.

We will see

God

fulfill

these covenant promises

in

our family as we are faithful

at our God-given parental

privilege and responsibility of

training up our children in

the

way they SHOULD go,

instructing them, disciplining

them, counseling them,

shepherding

their

hearts.

.because the Law is

intensely practical, Hebrew

education was intensely

practical. The

common

opinion

held

that

a man who

did not teach his son the Law

and

a trade,

the

ability to

work, reared him to

be

a fool

and a thief." - Rushdoony.

Biblical education, being

family-centered and being

concerned with

the

practical,

produces responsible people.

A person reared and

schooled

in the

doctrine

that

he has a responsibility to care

for his parents as need arises,

provide inheritance

of

moral

discipline and example as

well as material wealth, is a

person highly attuned to

responsibility." - Rushdoony.

By Biblical education the

man learns to

be

a competent

providing head for his

household,

and

the woman a

skilled

helpmeet

to

her

husband. 'The abandonment

of

a family-oriented

education leads to the

destruction of masculinity,

and it

renders

women

either

fluffY 1m.curies for men or

aggressive competitors to

men." - Rushdoony.

And, fathers,

do not

provohe

your

children

to

anger;

but

bJing them

up

in the diSCipline

and instruction

of

the Lord,

EpheSians 6:4.

Our families experiences

God's covenant blessings as

fathers are faithful at doing

two things:

First, fathers must take

care not to exasperate,

irritate,

or

provoke their

children to become resentful

of

them and

of

God. More

on

this later.

Second, fathers

must

bring

up

their children in the

nurture and admonition,

or

thedisdpline

and

instruction

of

the

Lord.

As we will see at a

8 l TIlE COUNSEL

o

Chalcedon l AprillMay 1998

later date, these two words

involve

three

distinct

and

vital areas

of

ministry to

children: Biblical instruction,

Biblical discipline

and

Biblical counseling. D

1

In Romans

4: 11

Abraham is referred to as the

father

ofall

who believe.

Galatians 3: 7 says that it

is

those

who are

of aith

that are

sons

ofAbraham, and

in

3:9

that

those

who are

of

faith ar

blessed with Abraham,

the

believer. Galatians 3:16

and

29 identify "the seed of

Abraham" as Christ

and

thos

who belong to Him

by

faith,

regardless

of ethnic

origin.

Galatians

3:8

and

14

show us

that

the

blessings

we

will

bring to the world's nations

are justification

by

faith

and

the promise of

the Holy

Spirit. Acts 16:31, alongv.7ith

several

other

verses, teach us

that the

blessings

of

salvation

are enjoyed,

not

only

be

believing heads of families,

but

by

their

whole

families a

well- Believe

in

the Lord Jesus

and you shall be saved, you and

yoU] household. And,

of

course, Deuteronomy 7:9,

along with

other

passages,

teaches us that the covenant

blessings and promises of

God continue

in

faithful

Christian families down

through

their generations.

1998 issue 2 - the future of the christian family - counsel of chalcedon

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